Communications

Technology engineers express optimisim about future

Technology engineers express optimisim about future

14 February 2011 at 00:00

76% of engineers working in technology-based firms have described the financial health of their company as the same or better than a year ago, according to research carried out by Ipsos MRBI to launch Engineers Week 2011(www.engineersweek.ie), which begins on the 14th February and runs until Sunday, February 20.

It was also found that 75% of engineers in these technology firms expected the turnover of their company to stay the same or increase in 2011 and 70% said they expected staff levels in their firms to stay the same or grow this year.

“There are obvious signs of resilience and optimism amongst our members, despite the harsh economic conditions,” suggested John Power, Director General of Engineers Ireland. “The figures overall indicate that sentiment is mixed, chiefly when the construction sector is also taken into account, but what is particularly interesting is the positivity expressed by engineers working in technology companies and also in the health/pharmaceutical and energy generation sectors. These are sectors that have been earmarked as critical to Ireland’s economic renewal so perhaps the green shoots of a sustainable recovery are finally in evidence. The spread and diverse roles of the engineers we surveyed also highlight the growing flexibility of the modern engineer and the variety of options an engineering qualification can offer.”

The figures in technology, health and energy sectors contrasted starkly with the ongoing difficulties in the construction sector, with 52% of engineers in this area describing their company’s financial health as worse or much worse than a year ago. 59% in construction also stated that their company had fewer staff than a year ago, 50% expecting turnover to decrease in 2011 and 45% predicting staff numbers would also decrease over the next 12 months.

Mr Power was speaking at the launch of Engineers Week 2011 which began with a seminar,‘Focus on future technologies’, that explored the information and communication technologies needed to meet the future vision of modern, efficient and dynamic societies and a presentation, ‘Dublin’s Integrated Ticketing Scheme – the implementation challenges’, by Tim Gaston, Railway Procurement Agency.

Engineers Week runs from February 14 to February 20 (see details below). Nearly 150 events will take place nationwide over the course of the week. To find out more information about events taking place near you or to register your attendance log onto www.engineersweek.ie.

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